Once again the Bush administration demonstrates sheer disdain for knowledge, scientific dialogue, and any community of scholars in their pursuit of absolute control over other people in rampant disregard of our Republic's principles.

"Waxman: U.S. Imposes New Limits on Scientists

Fri Jun 25,12:32 AM ET
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040625/hl_nm/aids_scient
ists_dc_2

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is making it harder for
scientists to speak to their global colleagues and restricting who can
attend an upcoming major AIDS (news - web sites) conference, a congressman
charged on Thursday.

Rep. Henry Waxman said he has a letter showing that the Health and Human
Services (news - web sites) Department has imposed new limits on who may
speak to
the World Health Organization (news - web sites).

Under the new policy, WHO must ask HHS for permission to speak to scientists
and must allow HHS to choose who will respond.

"This policy is unprecedented. For the first time political appointees will
routinely be able to keep the top experts in their field from responding to
WHO requests for guidance on international health issues," the California
Democrat wrote in a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson.

"This is a raw attempt to exert political control over scientists and
scientific evidence in the area of international health," Waxman wrote.

"Under the new policy the administration will be able to refuse to provide
any experts whenever it wishes to stall international progress on
controversial topics."

An HHS spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Waxman also complained that HHS had cut back a list of scientists planning
to attend the International AIDS Society conference in Bangkok, Thailand,
next month. The conference is considered the premiere meeting for AIDS
experts.

Waxman said that 40 presentations scheduled for the conference were
withdrawn after HHS decided that only 50 U.S. scientists could attend.
"The scientific community was outraged by this pullback," he wrote.

"I ask you to rescind this ill-advised policy until it can be adequately
reviewed and justified," Waxman wrote of the restrictions on WHO requests."